Dirt is being moved at Story Mountain in Sparta to make way for a new set of water pumps.
Public Works Director Dillard Quick said crews are already grading the area in preparation for new flooring at the pump station. Quick said the pumps being replaced are between 35 and 40 years old.
“It means that we’re going to leave it better than what we found it,” Quick said. “It’s going to be something the next person that comes in behind me and the guys that are here, that they know that’s its something it was taken care of and that’s the main goal, is to leave everything better than once you found it.”
Quick said the city budgeted $115,000 for the replacement in this year’s budget. Quick said, the project will end up being closer to $300,000 because of what they found.
“When we got into the meat of it, the pumps, the motors, the electrical system, that was just a number we used as a budget number when we did it last year,” Quick said. “Like I said, then we got into it, there was more thing wrong that we anticipated.”
Quick said this facility serves about 20 homes, all of them on top of the mountain. Quick said residents do not need to be concerned about a loss of water or interruption in service during this time these renovations.
“We are contracted with W and O to have a generator to be able to run to the existing pumps until the other pumps have been installed and then switched over,” Quick said. “So there should not be any lag in service.”
Quick said he does not yet have a date on when the pumps will arrive. He said he believes the new pumps will be up and running by the end of the summer, possibly early fall.
Quick said the money for these project is coming from the American Rescue Plan funds.
